Yet now hear ; i.e. "be not dismayed at what has been said. Listen a little longer." O Jacob my servant , etc. A recurrence to the terms of endearment used in Isaiah 41:8 , showing that words of favour and' promise are about to follow. read more
A PROPHECY OF ISRAEL 'S SPIRITUAL RECOVERY AND REGENERATION . This section is closely connected with Isaiah 43:1-28 ; of which it ought to form the conclusion. The prophet cannot bear to leave Israel under a ban—its spiritual guides "profaned," and itself given over to "reproaches." He must end with a brighter prospect. Accordingly, he holds out, in the present passage, the double hope read more
The offspring of Israel. Judgments are coming upon the world. And the sacred seed shall be scattered abroad through all nations. There shall be deliverance of Israel from all those calamities and much more; the heathen nations shall be brought into the light of Jehovah. I. ADDRESS OF JEHOVAH TO THE PEOPLE . There are three names for the people—Jacob, Israel, Jesurun—and each represents a separate phase of moral progress. 1. Jacob , my servant. This itself is a title... read more
The Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb (see Isaiah 43:1 , Isaiah 43:7 ). "From the womb" is added here for increased emphasis. Jesurun . The Lord's people have their proper names—Jacob, Israel, Jesurun, or rather, Jeshurun. "Jacob" marks them simply as descendants of the patriarch—the people to whom the promises were made. "Israel" marks their militant character—that as "God's soldiers" they fought his battles and maintained his cause in the midst of a hostile world.... read more
Revival promised in the power of the Spirit. The history of the Church reminds us of the tides that rise and fall upon our shores—ebb and flow, ebb and flow. Sometimes the waters rise with an unusual strength, and flood all the land around, but soon they fall back into the old limits and quiet movements. No doubt the kingdom of Christ is steadily advancing, widening its reach, enlarging its influence. But as we can only see a little, one little bay of the great shore-line, as it were, we can... read more
I will pour water upon him that is thirsty . "Water" is, in Isaiah, the common metaphor for Divine grace. Sometimes, as in this place (and Isaiah 35:6 ; Isaiah 43:20 ; Isaiah 55:1 ), the simple maim , "water" or "waters," is the word used. At other times we have instead, or in addition, "rain" ( Isaiah 5:6 ; Isaiah 30:23 ; Isaiah 55:10 ), or "dew" ( Isaiah 26:19 ), or "rivers" ( Isaiah 30:25 ; Isaiah 32:2 ; Isaiah 33:21 ; Isaiah 41:18 ; Isaiah 43:19 , etc.), or... read more
Water a symbol of Divine grace. It has been shown (in the comment on Isaiah 44:3 ) An analogy thus recommended seems entitled to be viewed as something more than poetic imagery, and may properly be made the subject of our serious thought. In what respects, then, we may ask, does the symbolism hold? I. WATER IS COMMON , ABUNDANT , FREELY GIVEN TO MANKIND AT LARGE . So is it with Divine grace. Christ, the Light of the world, lighteth every man that cometh into it... read more
The indispensable blessing. We may well speak of water in the natural realm and of its antitype in the spiritual as— I. THE INDISPENSABLE BLESSING . There may be abundance of earth, and it may be of the most valuable quality; there may be the utmost diligence in the field, and the latest agricultural science; but if the rain be withheld, if no water can be obtained to nourish the sown seed, there can be no harvest,—the indispensable blessing is not bestowed. So is it in the sphere... read more
They shall spring up as among the grass . The LXX . have, "As grass among the waters;" and this reading is followed by Bishop Lowth, Ewald, and Mr. Cheyne. But there does not seem to be any necessity for departing from the existing Hebrew text. As willows . There is some doubt whether the Hebrew word used ( 'ereb ) is rightly translated "willows." The modern yarab seems certainly not to be a "willow," but rather a species of Viburnum . It is, however, most strictly a water-plant,... read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 44:28
That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd "Who saith to Cyrus, Thou art my shepherd" - Pastor meus es ; Vulg. The true reading seems to be אתה רעי roi attah ; the word אתה attah , has probably been dropped out of the text. The same word is lost out of the text, Psalm 119:57 . It is supplied in the Septuagint by the word ει , thou art. Saying to Jerusalem - For ולאמר velemor , the Septuagint and Vulgate read האומר haomer . And to the temple - ולהיכל uleheychal ,... read more